Hanger and a method of hanging articles

ABSTRACT

A hanger and a method of hanging an article on a hanger are provided. The hanger includes a body portion, an attachment member, and a plurality of support members secured to the body portion at a predetermined angle. The plurality of support members extend away from the body portion in substantially the same direction as the attachment member to support a plurality of articles positioned thereon. The method of hanging an article on a hanger includes providing a hanger including a plurality of support members extending away from a body portion, providing an article having at least one open portion, and positioning the at least one open portion on at least one of the plurality of support members of the hanger without passing a first edge or a second edge of the body portion through any portion of the article.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a hanger and a method for hanging articles. More specifically, the present invention is directed to a hanger having a plurality of support members and a method for hanging a plurality of articles from a hanger having a plurality of support members.

BACKGROUND

Many different articles and/or garments have features which may make them difficult to hang on currently available hangers. Common features include thin materials, reduced friction materials, and light garments, among others. For example, strapless dresses, bras, and garments with spaghetti straps often slip from hangers, or are difficult to remove from recesses within the hangers.

Additionally, many currently available hangers only provide the ability to efficiently hang a single article of clothing. Hanging multiple articles can require layering multiple articles of clothing directly over top of each other, leading to wrinkles and/or difficulty retrieving clothing.

Intended advantages of the disclosed systems and/or methods satisfy one or more of these needs or provide other advantageous features. Other features and advantages will be made apparent from the present specification. The teachings disclosed extend to those embodiments that fall within the scope of the claims, regardless of whether they accomplish one or more of the aforementioned needs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment, a hanger includes a body portion, an attachment member, and a plurality of support members secured to the body portion at a predetermined angle. The plurality of support members may extend away from the body portion in substantially the same direction as the attachment member to support a plurality of articles positioned thereon.

In another embodiment a hanger includes a body portion, an attachment member, a first plurality of support members secured to a top portion of a first side of the body portion, and a second plurality of support members secured to the top portion of a second side of the body portion. The plurality of support members may extend away from the body portion in substantially the same direction as the attachment member to support a plurality of articles positioned thereon.

In another embodiment, a method of hanging an article on a hanger includes providing a hanger including a body portion, an attachment member, and a plurality of support members extending away from the body portion, providing an article having at least one open portion, and positioning the at least one open portion on at least one of the plurality of support members of the hanger. The at least one open portion is positioned on at least one of the plurality of support members without passing a first edge or a second edge of the body portion through any portion of the article.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following more detailed description of the preferred embodiment, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is perspective view of a hanger according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a support member having a varied width according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a support member having a varied shape according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a support member according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a geometrically shaped component affixed to a support member according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to represent the same parts.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Provided are a hanger and a method for hanging articles from the hanger. Embodiments of the present disclosure, in comparison to methods and hangers not using one or more of the features disclosed herein, provide an ability to hang a plurality of articles from a single hanger, increase an ability to retrieve articles from a hanger having a plurality of article, increase efficiency of a hanger, increase organization of articles, increase efficiency of closet space, or a combination thereof.

Referring to FIG. 1, in one embodiment, a hanger 100 includes a body portion 102, an attachment member 104, and a plurality of support members 106 extending away from a top face of the body portion 102 in substantially the same direction as the attachment member 104. In another embodiment, the support members 106 extend away from the body portion 102 at a predetermined angle. The body portion 102 includes any suitable length for positioning the plurality of support members 106 thereon. Suitable lengths include, but are not limited to, between about 10 inches and about 22 inches, between about 10 inches and about 20 inches, between about 10 inches and about 18.75 inches, between about 14 inches and about 18.75 inches, or any range, sub-range, combination, or sub-combination thereof.

Although shown in FIG. 1 as a rectangular member having corners, the body portion 102 may include any other suitable configuration for hanging the one or more articles on the plurality of support members 106 extending therefrom. For example, suitable configurations include, but are not limited to, a straight member, an arcuate member, a flexible member, an adjustable member, a member having a central opening, a member having a substantially circular cross-section, a member having a semi-circular cross-section, a member having a square cross-section, a member having rounded corners, a member having rounded edges, a member having any other suitable cross-sectional shape or geometry, or a combination thereof. In one embodiment, the body portion 102 includes a base material, such as, but not limited to, plastic, wood, or metal. In another embodiment, the base material of the body portion 102 is covered in a surface material, such as, but not limited to, a felt, a cloth, flocking, or a combination thereof. In a further embodiment, the body portion 102 includes any suitable thickness for supporting one or more articles disposed on the plurality of support members 106.

In one embodiment, the body portion 102 includes a front face 108, a rear face 110, a first edge 112, and a second edge 114. In another embodiment, any suitable article having one or more straps, loops, openings, or other open portions configured to be positioned around the support members 106 may be hung from the front face 108 or the rear face 110 by positioning the open portion around or suspended from the support members 106. In a further embodiment, the one or more open portions of the articles may be positioned on the support members 106 without passing the first edge 112 or the second edge 114 through any portion of the article, as with a conventional hanger. Suitable articles are garments that include, but are not limited to, bras, dresses, tank tops, spaghetti strap shirts, strapless dresses, shirts, jewelry, camisoles, scarves, ties, or belts.

The articles may be positioned over the support members 106 in any desired configuration. Preferably, each of the articles is positioned over at least one of the support members 106 on either side of the attachment member 104 to balance the hanger 100 around the attachment member 104. Positioning the articles in this way permits removal of individual articles without forming a substantial imbalance on the hanger 100.

The attachment member 104 is secured to a center area of the top face of the body portion 102, dividing the body portion 102 into a first side and a second side. In one embodiment, the attachment member 104 includes any suitable configuration to detachably secure the hanger 100 to an external surface. Suitable configurations include a hook, a clip, a ball and shaft, or any other configuration for detachably securing the hanger 100. The external surface may include a rod, a hook, a clothes line, or any other support structure corresponding to the configuration of the attachment member 104. In another embodiment, the attachment member 104 may be rotatably secured to the body portion 102, permitting the body portion 102 to rotate while the attachment member 104 is detachably secured to the external surface.

In one embodiment, a first plurality of the support members 106 positioned on the top portion of the first side of the body portion 102 is equal to a second plurality of the support members 106 positioned on the top portion of the second side of the body portion 102. In another embodiment, the support members 106 on either side of the attachment member 104 are equally spaced from one another. The hanger 100 includes any suitable number of the support members 106 corresponding to the length of the body portion 102 and a predetermined spacing between support members 106. A suitable number of the support members 106 includes, but is not limited to, up to 12, up to 10, between 2 and 12, between 2 and 10, between 2 and 8, between 4 and 8, or any range, sub-range, combination, or sub-combination thereof. For example, referring to FIG. 1, in one embodiment, the hanger 100 includes 8 of the support members 106, with 4 on either side of the attachment member 104. In another example, the hanger 100 includes 10 of the support members 106, with 5 on either side of the attachment member 104 (not shown).

The support members 106 extend away from the top face of the body portion 102 to provide support for the articles positioned thereon. In one embodiment, the support members 106 extend any suitable length away from the hanger 102, such as, but not limited to, up to 3 inches, up to 2½ inches, between about ¼ inch and about 2½ inches, between about ¾ and about 2 inches, or any range, sub-range, combination, or sub-combination thereof. In another embodiment, each of the support members 106 includes any shape for supporting an article. For example, the support members 106 may be cylinders, rectangles, squares, downward facing pyramids, or any other suitable geometry. In a further embodiment, at least two of the support members 106 include different shapes.

In one embodiment, the size and/or shape may vary along the length of the support members 106 to increase support for the articles positioned thereon. For example, referring to FIG. 2, in one embodiment, the support members 106 increase in width as they extend away from the body portion 102 to bias the article positioned thereon towards the body portion 102. Referring to FIG. 3, in another example, a distal portion of the support members 106 includes a different shape, such as a sphere at the distal portion of a rectangle, to retain the article on the support member 106.

Referring to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, in another embodiment, one or more of the support members 106 may include one or more integral protrusions 116 extending outwardly there from. The integral protrusions 116 are arranged to maintain the position of the article on the support members 106. For example, in one embodiment, the integral protrusions 116 are perpendicular, or substantially perpendicular to the support members 106. Other examples include the integral protrusions 116 intersecting the support members 106 at acute and/or obtuse angles suitable for maintaining the position of the article on the support members 106. In another embodiment, the integral protrusions 116 are parallel to, or substantially parallel to the body 102 of the hanger 100. In a further embodiment, two of the integral protrusions 116 are arranged opposite each other on the support member 106.

As shown in FIG. 5, in one embodiment, a plurality of the integral protrusions 116 extend away from a geometrically shaped component 120 affixed to one or more of the support member 106. In one example, the geometrically shaped component 120 may be affixed to all of the support members 106. In another example, the geometrically shaped component 120 is only affixed to a portion of the support members 106, such as, but not limited to, the support member 106 most distal from the attachment member 104 on either side. As depicted in FIG. 5, the component 120 is circular, but may have any shape, and six of the integral protrusions 116 extend radially from the circular component 120, although any number of the integral protrusions 116 may extend from the component 120. Ideally the integral protrusions 116 extend in a radial direction perpendicular to the support members 106, but may extend in directions that are off-perpendicular. In another embodiment, at least one of the articles is hung from at least one of the integral protrusions 116. For example, one or more ties may be hung from the one or more integral protrusions 116 on each of the geometrically shaped components 120.

While the invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A hanger, comprising: a body portion; an attachment member; and a plurality of support members secured to the body portion at a predetermined angle; wherein the plurality of support members extend away from the body portion in substantially the same direction as the attachment member to support a plurality of articles positioned thereon.
 2. The hanger of claim 1, comprising an equal number of the support members on either side of the attachment member.
 3. The hanger of claim 1, comprising equal spacing between each of the support members on either side of the attachment member.
 4. The hanger of claim 1, wherein the plurality of support members comprises between about 2 and about 12 support members.
 5. The hanger of claim 1, wherein the plurality of support members comprises between about 8 and about 10 support members.
 6. The hanger of claim 1, wherein the body portion comprises a length of between about 14 inches and about 22 inches.
 7. The hanger of claim 1, wherein the body portion comprises a length of between about 10 inches and about 12 inches.
 8. The hanger of claim 1, wherein a width of each of the support members varies along a length of the support members.
 9. The hanger of claim 1, wherein a shape of each of the support members is selected from the group consisting of a cylinder, a rectangle, a square, and a downward facing pyramid.
 10. The hanger of claim 9, comprising at least one integral protrusion extending from at least one of the support members.
 11. The hanger of claim 1, wherein a geometrically shaped component is affixed to at least one of the support members, the geometrically shaped component comprising a plurality of integral protrusions extending therefrom.
 12. The hanger of claim 1, wherein a configuration of the attachment member is selected from the group consisting of a hook, a clip, and a ball and shaft.
 13. The hanger of claim 1, wherein a base material of the body portion is covered with a surface material selected from the group consisting of a felt, a cloth, and flocking.
 14. A method of hanging an article on a hanger, the method comprising: providing a hanger, comprising: a body portion; an attachment member; and a plurality of support members extending away from the body portion; providing an article having at least one open portion; and positioning the at least one open portion on at least one of the plurality of support members of the hanger; wherein the at least one open portion is positioned on at least one of the plurality of support members without passing a first edge or a second edge of the body portion through any portion of the article.
 15. The method of claim 14, further comprising positioning at least one open portion of the article on one of the support members on each side of the attachment member.
 16. The method of claim 14, further comprising hanging a plurality of the articles on the hanger.
 17. The method of claim 16, further comprising removing any one of the articles on the hanger without removing any of the other articles on the hanger.
 18. A hanger, comprising: a body portion; an attachment member; a first plurality of support members secured to a top portion of a first side of the body portion; and a second plurality of support members secured to the top portion of a second side of the body portion; wherein the plurality of support members extends away from the body portion in substantially the same direction as the attachment member to support a plurality of articles positioned thereon.
 19. The hanger of claim 18, wherein the first plurality of support members is equal to the second plurality of support members.
 20. The hanger of claim 18, wherein the support members in the first plurality of support member and the second plurality of support members are equally spaced. 